Drill cradle



Sept. 9 1952 FIG. I.

H. A. GILLERSTROM DRILL CRADLE Filed Oct. 29, 1949 INVENTOR HILMER A. GILLERSTHOM ATTO NEY Patented Sept. 9, 1952 Hilmer A. Gillerstrom,

to Independent Pneu Arcadia, Calif;, assignor 111., a corporation of Dela matic Tool 00., Aurora; 1

ware

Application'flctober 29, 1949;Serial No. 124,281

The present invention relates toi the field of I drilling in general; and particularly to" drills used- 2 inmining operations-in :which a positively flCtll-r atedutool oil the percussive :or rrotary type is sup ported upon a vertical? sinker leg rorcolumn to be advancednhorizontally; or substantially horizontally; into ,a wall; Morexspecificallythe invention comprisesza cradleforua drill used in mining operations '{Which is so :ccnstructed :and'arranged 155110; enable the tool; readily. to be. mounted upon thc--supportv element and in .use i to be angularly a justedabout both horizontal andvertical axes.

Drills of the ;rotary: or percussive type used .in mining-operations are usuallyj'too heavy to be held by the operator astheyadvance-into the material being worked upon. conventionally such tools 4 are supported upon ang-extensible column which in..one swell knownjform is :called. a sinker leg. Such; a columnis-disclosedvin Jco-pendingzeapplication Serial-Not-7L064, V

In. the drillingoperation as: the tool is advanced into thework the supporting sinker leg or column:

pivots forwardly and its angular position changes with respect to'the tool. 1 This advance requires not only that the sinker leg 'be extensible but additionally thatxthe drill besornounted that ,the

relative angular relationship; can i change as the drilladvances. r

The drill itself is adaptedfor various operations 2 andtshouldt be removably, rnounted: upon the sinker leg Themounting cradle constructed .in

accordance-with the presentdnvention permits the drill to be removed readily, yet securely locks itinlplacein the operative relationship.

With an appreciation of the-problems present i in the field of miningtowhich the present inven- 1 tion relates, ,andalsoe of the desirability of; providing an angularly adjustable and easily installed mounting; it is an object ofthe present in vention to provide a drill cradlerwhich effectively connects a-dril1 to a sinker-legor similar supporting member for limited universal movement.

It is another object of the invention to provide a drill cradle in which a percussive or rotary drill adapted for mining is removably supported 'for angular movement about a pluralityof' axes" A still further. object-0f the invention is to provide a cradle for rotary or percussive drills which 15"" readily positioned upon a sinker "leg and whichimounts the drill for limited angular movement about a horizontal axis.

These and other -more-specificobjects will appear upon reading the following specification and claim and upon considering in ;connection therewith :--the attached drawing :toawhich they (relate.

1 Glaimu (Cl. 255*51) r downwardly recessed seat Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated: it

Figure l is-a-side elevational View of a pneumaticdrill mounted upon a sinker leg by a cradle unit' oonstructedin accordancewith the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlargedviewof the cradle unit looking in the direction of the arrows upon the line 2- -2 of Figure '1, certain away and shownin section; andure 2;

Referring againto the-drawing, a pneumatic drill, indicated generally by the reference'character 1 this illustratedand is seen to be supported upon a; pneumatic sinker-leg, indicatedgenerally at I l; by a cradle unit constructed in accordance With-the present invention and generally "indicated-at necessary motive power to actuatethose elements.

Drill It! may be of conventional construction, its working parts and controls forming no part of the present invention; it that it have a rigid casing. rather 'elongated with approximately, cylindrical bodies The sinkerleg tional so-long asits upper end is provided with a postyas indicated at l6,-from which extends a radial-pin l1.

being necessary only The cradle unit constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises a cradle proper its upper surface with a- 22 from the opposite sides of which extend lateral arms 23, A pair of spaced cars 24 extend downwardly from base 2|. A pair'of studs or bolts 26 extend upwardly from the arms 23 in which they are threadedly seated g ml? fixed relationshipt their upper ends being threaded and adapted to seat retaining nuts :21.

Acclampplate mtextendsubetween studs Z B and i is, formed with i a downwardly opening v-shaped seat 29 "positioned: between laterally extending parallel ends or arms '3ltbored to seat upon the studs 26w Washersufiz are positioned, between the nuts 21 and the arms 3| of the clamp. Tighteningsthe nuts forces the clampdownwardlyr against drill in; andthe latteriag'ainst the Icradle seat 22, the relationship being as illustrated in:

Figurez. t .7 Ears Men the {underside of cradle parts being broken Figure 3 is'a sectionupon the lined-3 of-Fi 12. Airconduitsl3 and ltfrom'a suit able source of air under pressure connect to the drill'and to -the leg,-respectively, and-provide the Such drills are usually H may'also be conven 'slidingly 2 I extend 1 upon opposite sides 'of and seat, the transversely boredupper end,- 341'ofwa ,socketmember 31 the" lower'portion ofwvhich is formed interiorly with i a seat 38 rotatably enclosing the upper end of post l6 at the top of sinker leg. Socket member 31 is provided with a downwardly opening slot 39 at its lower end which provides an entrance through which the post-carried pin H can pass in entering an enlargement 4| in socket seat 38. The enlargement is defined at its upper end by a shoulder 42 and at its lower end by a shoulder 43 positioned as to abut and limit the longitudinal displacement of pin H in the enlargement 4|. In the preferred form illustrated the pin would never strike upper shoulder 42 as the upper end of post l6 contacts the inner end of seat 38. l6, and it is clear that socket member 38, and. with it the entire cradle unit, may rotate relative to the post, the pin |1 traveling in the enlargement in all angular positions.

The downwardly extending cars 24 of cradle 2| are provided with transverse bores 46 and 41, and the upper portion 34 of socketmember 31 positioned therebetween is formed with aligned bores 48 and 49, a transverse headed lock bolt 50 seating within the bores. The reduced threaded outer end of bolt 50 extends through the bores 46 and 49, which are enlarged, and carries a compression coil spring and a bearing element 52 rotatable in ear bore 46. A lock nut 53 forces the bearing element 52 inwardly against spring 5| and draws the headed end of the bolt against the outer face of adjacent car 24. The shank of bolt 50 is enlarged in its extension through bores 41 and 48 and seats without looseness. The adjacent faces of the car 24 and the upper portion 34 of the socket member 31 are forced together between the bolt head and the spring 5|, the latter exerting a force of sufficient magnitude to prevent ative pivotal movement between the cradle proper 2|v and the socket member 31 in ab e of; a pivoting force of predeter nli e.

In the operation of a drilling unit incorpoq. rating a cradle construct accordance with the present invention the a supporting e er col mn 111 e n Figure h fii t El m-P. n. the c ncav seat 22. of cradle proper 2% by clamp, member 28 which swas. bs-re a -tl .i.=t g n.in

of nuts 21 on studs. 26. drill.

p s t o ing he.

n cradle pqn the, nd r end o the sicker leg the socket member '31 is; advanced, down-.. i l 1. 91 e 120 t 9. that th tw rr p'ifl' t s a rw s ly hrou h; the. l QS and into the, enlarged seat 4t. A slight rotation i ul r di pla the Pin. r lqt 3. and positions it in'enlargement 4|; of post seat, 38 to pre en e ar ti n The assembled unit is than; positioned relative to, th the qqnreatipefa co tr l valves bing adjusted as to direct, actuating air to the drill and to the supporting legs and the unit is ready for operation. As; the drill advances into the work the leg It pivots forwardly, the, relative angular movement taking place about the pivot bolt 50' connecting the cradle proper 2| and socket. member 31. If it is desired for any reason to rotate the drill about a vertical axis without turning the leg H the action is permitted by turning the drill cradle and socket member 31 upon the post IS, the post-carried pin |1 traveling arcuately within the enlargement 4| of post seat 38. Upon completion of the drilling operation, it being de-- sired to separate the drill from its supporting leg, it is. only necessary to rotate the drill rela- Enlargement 4| encircles post.

the bore in the ear adjacent the counterbore in tive to the leg until the post-carried pin I 1 is opposite the slot 39 in socket member 31 at which time the drill can be lifted free.

While the particular apparatus herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of at= taining the objects and providing the advaii' tages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than i as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A cradle unit adapted to support a drill for angular adjustment upon the upper end of a supporting leg, said unit comprising a cradle body formed in its upper surface with a drill upper ends of said studs and adapted to force: sald mp plate.- teward the seat of said cradle body to secure a drill fixedly therebetween, at p r of spaced. parallel ears extended downwardly from the underside of said cradle body, a socket m m r having av downwardly opening seat toreceive a post at the upper end of a supporting;

leg and. including an. upper portion extendedi tween said; care, said upper portion of saidi 09 611. member being bored and counterbored j ai ears. b ng. termed with bones aligned with;

th b re an eounterbore. in said. socket member;.

saidsocket member being of the size of said ceunterbore and the bore in; the ear. adjacent;

the bore in said socket member being of the Qf said bore, a. headed bolt; extended througln l' lie aligned. bores and counterbores of said SQQket member and said. ears with its threaded;

end projecting beyond the ear adjacent the!- connterbore in said socket member, said bolt f havmg a body rotatably seating in the bore in! said socket member and in the ear adjacent said;

bore, a, resilient member encircling said bolt, mth n, said counterbore in said socket memben,

a sleeve concentric to said bolt abutting saidi resilient member and extended through the ear adjacent said counterbore, and. a nut. threaded on the end of said bolt abut-- ting said sleeve and adapted to force said sleeve;

against said spring to compress the latter to) enable it to force said socket member against the ear adjacent, the headed end of said bolt to provide a, frictional contact which may be varied. by tightening o1: loosening said. nut and for the. purpose. of controlling the resistance to relative, angular adjustment between said socket meme ber and. said: cradle unit.

- HEB 1E3. A.; GILLERSTROM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number outwardly 

